ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98450
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| Date: | Thursday 28 September 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 874th BSqn /498th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-65215 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 10 |
| Other fatalities: | 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Philip, South Dakota -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Kearny AAF, Nebraska |
Martin-Omaha B-29-10-MO Superfortress 42-65214: Built under licence by Glenn L. Martin Company, Omaha, Nebraska. Delivered to the USAAF 9 September 1944. Assigned to 874th Bomb Squadron, 498th Bomb Group, Great Bend AAF, Kansas.
Written of (destroyed) when the aircraft had a mid-air collision on 28 September 1944 with B-29 #42-63433 at approximately 17,000 to 18,000 feet altitude in the skies near Philip, South Dakota (at approximate co ordinates at 43° 50' N, 101° 0' W,
The two bombers were operating out of the Kearny Army Airfield in Nebraska. Two of the ten crew of 42-65215 managed to bail out the other eight were killed. One of them, Dale "Bucko" Coates, parachuted to earth, and landed at White River, South Dakota. According to a contemporary press report:
"Union City Times-Gazette, Tuesday, October 3, 1944
Lt. Weimer Killed In Plane Crash In South Dakota.
Lt. Robert Weimer, 23, Navigator Bombardier on a B-29, was killed as the result of an airplane accident near Phillip, South Dakota on Sept. 28. The telegram, which was received by his mother, Mrs. Ethel Mae Weimer, Union City, stated that the delay in notifying here was occasioned by the fact that the accident occurred a considerable distance from the nearest installation, and much time was consumed in gaining access to the wreckage and returning the remains to Rapid City, South Dakota.
The eight crew members on board 42-65215 that were killed were:
Captain Billy J. Wheeler
2nd Lt. Robert E. Weimer
2nd Lt. Gerald T. McGrand
2nd Lt. Mathew G. Lutostanski
2nd Lt. Roland J. Hand
T/Sgt. Marshall Wayne Ballard
Cpl. Warren J. McCarthy
SSGT Dallas George Chevrie
From letter written by PFC Arthur McKelvey, 870 Bomb Aw, 497 Bomb Gp, stationed at Kearney, Nebraska. Dated 10-2-1944:
Two planes collided in air over Colorado a few days ago and only two men got out of one and all got out of the other. They were flying in formation and the windshield iced over on one plane. The pilot asked the commander if he could drop out and it was refused him. They were flying too close and his wing caved the other plane’s fuselage in at the middle and the propellor cut the tail off. It was a loss of about 2 ½ million dollars.
Sources:
1. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_3a.html
3. http://www.bbpmag.com/2013mags/may-june/BBC_May13_LastPage.pdf
4. Union City Times-Gazette, Tuesday, October 3, 1944
5. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87183678 .
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Jun-2017 20:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 08-Jun-2017 20:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Other fatalities, Source] |
| 23-Mar-2020 16:01 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 10-Mar-2024 18:20 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
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